by Haris
A quick update on a wonderful morning of playing in rough water with ambiguous conclusions about access to Lake Michigan water trail.
First the good news. Yesterday's surfing conditions were some of the best I've experienced during the past two seasons during which I've been actively seeking rough water. The water temperatures were in the 70s, the air was similar, sun came out just as we started the session on Rainbow Beach, and the waves that started in the 2-4' range picked up to 4-6' during the short stretch of the play sessions. The wind was constant from the North and also picked up as the morning went on. The waves have been forming for over a day when we arrived. They were much nicer than the ones you'd see during the first day of significant weather conditions. 24 hours of constant 15+ knot winds produce pretty well formed and spaced waves--not the normal rough water mess common during the early stages of a storm.
Waves were rolling in and beginning to steepen up and break a few hundred yards off shore. The East coast of Lake Michigan gets more waves than we do due to prevailing winds. The drawback of that fact is that the entire East coast has a standing sandbar about 50-100 yards off-shore. The sandbar is only a couple of feet deep, emerges from the depths at a rather steep gradient and breaks even the smallest incoming waves. The bigger the waves the more violently they break on this sandbar. On the West coast the sandbar is largely absent and the waves rise up and break much more gradually making for a much more predictable and controlled rough water.
Rainbow Beach is a wonderful station on the Lake Michigan water trail with a launch on the South side of the sandy coastline. Half of the parking areas are under construction and the entrance is re-routed from the normal access through 79th street to 77th street. Still, when conditions are on the rougher side, not many show up for regular beach going activities. This weekend was the last weekend before Labor Day. After that, access for kayakers will be unlimited!
We practiced some side-surfing at the beginning of the day. It's a must-have skill in the surf zone. It can be practiced close to shore and is a great way to build confidence in conditions that can intimidate even the bravest souls. Then we headed into the waves and tried, as best as we could, head for shore under the propulsion of splashing waves. To me that's the ultimate feeling in a kayak--flying toward shore at a speed far greater than I can ever produce with my own power and using virtually no energy for this flight! Yipee! Well, you do need to brace and steer 'a little bit'...
Two safety notes. First, was a reminder: my play-partner for the day had a swamped kayak tossed on top of him by the mischievous waves. He got driven into the sandy bottom and instantly became a life-time fan of helmets in the surf zone. Lessons learned: (a) wear a helmet (and, naturally, a PFD) in rough water and (b) avoid being in between the kayak and the shore as much as possible.
Second, was less obvious. I had a particularly good two-wave run toward shore. I picked one wave well of shore and it took me for a good diagonal ride. After I was off the first wave, I immediately caught another one and rode it in the opposite direction almost to shore where the kayak was broached and I was fast approaching the shore being side-surfed by a pile of foaming white water. I was getting a bit tired and needed a break so I did not mind being pushed onto the sandy beach for a rest. It was at the end of a powerful slide onto the sand that I realized that my bow had only cleared the beach walk by about a foot or so. In the absence of rocks in that section of the beach, I did not worry very much about the shore landings. In the excitement of the rides, I lost sight of the plastic beach walk which ended well inside the wash area of that day's waves. I watched the end of the side walk subsequently--the waves would wash over it and submerge the end in almost a foot of water. I am not sure what would have happened had I landed 10' to the East instead. I don't know how the bottom of my kayak (or my own bottom) would have handled the impact of the collision. I know for sure that, had I been rolled over and landed with my body facing the shore rather than the kayak, there would have been some very real and very serious potential for injury. Lessons learned: inspect the landing area for hazards before you launch and do not underestimate their danger. It's too easy to become complacent in our area where we are blessed with soft sand. I was lucky!
The bad news was that we drove all the way to Whiting, IN in search of maximum exposure to the Northerly winds while still on the West side of the Lake. The access gates to the beach were locked even though the signs clearly indicated opening and closing hours as well as parking/launching fees. We could have parked some distance away in the adjacent parking lot but the long carry, gloomy early morning air paired with unfamiliar industrial surroundings created ominous atmosphere and we chose to drive North to more familiar city environments for our adrenaline fix.
Erik S. has generously posted detailed directions for Whiting, IN access site here. According to him, the gates to the Whihala Beach should have been open on that day. He promised to investigate with the park authorities.
Have fun on the water!
